1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a computer network application for sharing, combining, formatting, and printing into a predetermined document format information gathered from a number of users or work groups formed within an organization to register the organization under ISO 9000, in a networked, multi-user environment. In particular, this invention effectuates the documentation of business process systems via facilitated computer-based, cooperative work sessions, thereby streamlining the registration process for ISO 9000.
2. Description of the Prior Art
ISO 9000 is a set of five international standards for certifying an organization's Quality Assurance Management System. The standards outline the requirements for certifiably establishing, documenting, and maintaining an effective quality system. These standards are published by the American National Standards Institute, Inc., which has joined other nations in adopting standards fully consistent with the ISO 9000-9004 series of quality assurance standards, in the following documents:
(ISO 9000) ANSI/ASQC Q90-1987, Quality Management and Quality Assurance Standards--Guidelines for Selection and Use. PA0 (ISO 9001) ANSI/ASQC Q91-1987, Quality Systems--Model for Quality Assurance in Design/Development, Production, Installation and Serving. PA0 (ISO 9002) ANSI/ASQC Q92-1987, Quality Systems--Model for Quality Assurance in Production and Installation. PA0 (ISO 9003) ANSI/ASQC Q93-1987, Quality Systems--Model for Quality Assurance in Final Inspection and Test. PA0 (ISO 9004) ANSI/ASQC Q94-1987, Quality Management and Quality System Elements--Guidelines PA0 (ISO 9004-2) ISO 9004-2-1991, Quality Management and Quality System Elements--Guidelines for SERVICES
ANSI is American National Standards Institute; ASQC is American Society for Quality Control; ISO is the International Standards Organization.
Business organizations are registered through an audit process conducted by a third party registration body. The present invention is addressed to the development of an organization's quality management system in preparation for such an audit. Many worldwide businesses today have recently been registered or are working toward registration. Various business and government organizations in Europe are requiring ISO 9000 registration as a requirement for doing business in any manner or form on the continent.
ISO 9000 registration is a difficult and time-consuming process for any organization. The typical approach is to assign individuals or groups of people to selected ISO 9000 requirements. The individuals or groups manually go about the task of documenting processes and procedures in a traditional manner, such as with individual workstations or PC's followed by an integration of collected data overseen by a project manager. This requires many iterations and reviews before a final version of a quality assurance program is complete because of the simultaneous and scattered efforts taking place within the organization. The organization is then audited for compliance to an approved procedure. Every person affected by the procedure must be able to access the current version of the documented procedure, understand it, and follow it.
Groupware refers to computer applications that allow groups of people to work together through the sharing of information. Most groupware products provide one or more of the following functions: Calendar, Electronic Mail, Word Processing, Data or Document Management, and Group Decision Support. Groupware products, such as LotusNotes, all run on a network so that information is easily shared and accessible to all network users who need it.